More and more information processing terminals such as mobile phone terminals, smart phones, tablet terminals, personal computers, etc. in recent years have touch panel displays. Some of these information processing terminals have two or more touch panel displays for use as a virtual large screen (see Patent document 1).
Since it is necessary that mobile devices, such as mobile phone terminals and smart phones, in particular, be of a size that ensures portability, such a device can be provided with a large screen but the device size can be effectively reduced by integrating the touch panel display with the respective device casing in which the panel display and casing are foldably coupled to each other. Mobile devices can also be provided with a large screen but the device size can be reduced by integrating the touch panel display with the respective casing in which the panel display and casing are detachably coupled to each other.
Since use of smart phones has become widespread, there are various occasions in which users are operating touch panel displays more frequently. In cold climates, in particularly, the users of smart phones are expected to wear gloves. As the range of applications for smart phone becomes broader, gloves may be required to operate the smart phone. Consequently, the requirement is that the touch panel displays of smart phones be operable while the user is wearing gloves.
A high sensitivity mode electrostatic capacitance touch panel is capable of detecting an action made by a finger when the finger moves close to the touch panel without directing touching the surface of the touch panel. When such a high-sensitivity-mode electrostatic capacitance touch panel is incorporated in a touch panel display, the user can operate the touch panel display while wearing gloves.
Some high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance touch panels are able to distinguish whether a finger has touched the touch panel surface or has become close to the touch panel surface. Such a high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance touch panel may be used to make information processing terminals that are capable of performing more operations than information processing terminals which incorporate a touch panel display that detects only when a finger contacts the touch panel surface.